Words by Oliver Schoening PZ ’27, Graphic by Thea Riley PZ ’28

Coachella is back and as self-indulgent as ever. Despite worries about declining attendance, it wrapped a successful second weekend of the year with performances from artists new and old. At this point, the festival’s reputation precedes it as a hub for American cultural hedonism. Coachella was bolstered by performances from big-ticket artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Lady Gaga, and Charli XCX, who belatedly declared the end of last year’s ‘brat summer.’ However, this year, consumerism was balanced out by a political landscape that loomed large for artists and attendees alike.

Left-wing darling Bernie Sanders set the tone for the weekend, opening up Clairo’s set on the first weekend with a surprise stop on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. He urged the audience to remain vigilant, saying “you can turn away, and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril.” 

As the American left struggles to find direction after the first few months of the second Trump administration, Sanders has again emerged as a galvanizing voice of opposition. Some conservative outlets derided what they perceived as the irony of Sanders’ appearance during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour at Coachella, seen by many (myself included) as a symbol of American excess and consumerism. However, be that as it may, these arguments of betrayed ideals are ones made in bad faith and fail to see the value of the appearance of someone like Sanders at Coachella. People from all over flock to attend, and in times like these, the left cannot afford to pick and choose where and how they reach people. Sanders ended his remarks by thanking Clairo, saying “I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights, to try and end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza, where thousands of women and children are being killed.” With shaky negotiations on a ceasefire deal and threats of further military action threatening to destabilize the entire region, Sanders’ appearance offers hope that there may be another path forward. 

Bernie and Clairo may be the most notable example, but politics loomed large for other artists, too. Nicolás Jaar of the band Darkside interrupted his set to draw attention to the recent detentions of pro-Palestinian activists across the country, saying: “Some of you may know, just protesting a genocide that’s happening means you can get deported, like Mahmoud Khalil”. 

The most controversial political event over the entire two weeks of Coachella came at the hands of the Irish hip-hop trio KNEECAP. The trio projected various statements onto the screen during their set, reading “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.” and “Fuck Israel, Free Palestine”. Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, called for the band’s work visa in the United States to be revoked, saying in a social media post that “Their actions included projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech, and this band openly support terrorist organizations.” Obviously, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one that carries a more personal significance for many. Be that as it may, Osbourne’s statement is one that uses an extremely broad interpretation of hate speech that risks further devaluing the term. Frankly, I am disheartened by the fact that Osbourne seems to be taking advantage of the wave of recent deportations of pro-Palestinian activists in order to punish a band for political statements that she disagrees with. While some of Kneecap’s past statements can only be described as questionable at the very least, accusing the band of hate speech is a large jump to be made, and the band’s words at Coachella fall short of any real reason for the band’s visas to be revoked. 

There is a disingenuous air to Osbourne’s accusations of hate speech given the content of her husband’s music. After all, one of Black Sabbath’s best-known songs is an anti-war anthem with lyrics such as “In the fields, the bodies burning, as the war machine keeps turning.” It is nearly impossible to hear these lyrics and not have the constant news of more airstrikes on civilians in the Gaza Strip come to mind, but it is unsurprising that these words are inconsequential now. Interestingly, there is no record of Osbourne ever condemning Israeli military action against Palestinian civilians. Her words may well have been better received if she had, but as of now they are coming from someone who is willing to turn a blind eye to the indiscriminate bombings of Palestinians in order to serve her own political agenda. 

Even more ridiculous is Osbourne’s claim that “the festival organizer facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression”. Music has always been political. Even artists like Clairo who may not be overtly political in their music showed their ability to utilize their platform in order to mobilize people towards important political causes. This type of fiery political activism at Coachella isn’t a new phenomenon, either. In 2007, festival headliner Rage Against the Machine’s frontman Zack de la Rocha delivered a fiery speech denouncing the Bush administration at the height of the Iraq War, saying that “they should be hung and tried and shot” for their hand in the violence. Compared to this, Kneecap’s message seems tame. 

When seeing artists use their platforms for political activism, I am begrudgingly reminded of right-wing journalist Andrew Breitbart’s eponymous doctrine stating that “politics is downstream from culture”. These words echo the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci’s theory that the ruling class maintains control by shaping cultural norms in order to manufacture consent and reinforce dominant ideologies. Although it is easy to dismiss celebrities for being out of touch with reality, the activism of these artists and politicians at Coachella offers some hope that there is something being done about the right-wing shift in wider American society and culture. Even amid these threats of reprisal and assaults on free speech, it is incredibly important that these artists make use of their platforms to counter it. Give an inch and they’ll take a mile, as the saying goes. From Gill-Scott Heron to Joan Baez and beyond, musicians have to work to ensure that marginalized voices and communities are not cut out of the deal completely. Whether or not it is the “right time or place” does not matter.